“What?” This blew her mind. “I don’t want that. I was trying to be the kind of woman you’d like.”
“Is that why you were so quiet? I thought you were recovering from too much mead.”
“Please, I only had one. Nothing about last night wasmead-influenced.” She sat down at a picnic table. “I had a good time. Then I woke up and got worried things were going to change.”
He took a seat across from her. “Change like how?”
Valerie traced the metal bolt heads in the wood. “That you’d find me too much. People do. I’m fun for a while, but then they get tired of dealing with me.”
“You mentioned that yesterday,” he said. “In the car. Who does that?” His mouth was a thin line.
“I don’t know. People.” She shrugged. “You said as much about your sister.”
“It’s like nothing to do with Stefanie, I promise. You’re different people, and we have different relationships.” He took her hands. “I’m going to tell you again: I like how you are. I love the way you get excited about things. It makes me look at the world in a new way.”
Her heart was pounding. “You say that now.”
“Valerie, I’ve found you fascinating since we met. It’s only grown.”
She felt her mood lift. “Really?”
“I’ve wanted to kiss you since day one.” He sounded certain. “I like you the way you are. I like the way you tease because it makes me take things less seriously. I like the way your mind works, because you think of things that never occur to me. I like the way you’re open to anything, like helping Roger and sleeping in a stranger’s tent. It’s a miracle to me that you’ve survived, to be honest.”
She listened closely, and this time she let herself truly believe him. “I like you the way you are too.”
“You do?”
“I like how you organize things. It makes me feel secure, like you’ve thought through all the possibilities and found solutions. I like that you’re so rational because it gives me a different perspective. I like being quiet with you.” She stood up and walked around the table to sit next to him. “I like kissing you.”
“Good, because I like kissing you.” He leaned in and the morning sounds of the faire faded as she forgot about breakfast completely.
* * *
An hour later, they were in the car debating what was worse, the Scotch egg or the mac-and-cheese bites. “A Scotch egg is basically an all-in-one breakfast,” Valerie argued. “You have the sausage and the egg right there. It can’t be the worse choice.”
“What about the toast?”
“Bread crumbs count.”
“Counterargument,” said Nico. “It was soggy.”
“The mac-and-cheese bites were soggier and also gross. I don’t know how a combination of so many tastes could have no flavor.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree.”
“I disagree.”
That made him laugh. It was nice to have cleared the air because it meant Valerie could finally touch Nico the way she wanted. Back hugs in line for breakfast ice cream. Holding hands. Kisses. She’d been worried Nico wouldn’t be into low-key PDA, but he seemed to almost glow when she sat close. He’d mentioned it had been over a year since he’d dated and she wondered if he was a little touch starved.
She was, too, to be honest.
They were in the car on their way back to Villa Badgerton Shores (“No,” said Nico simply) when Valerie’s phone rang.
“Hello, Valerie.” It was Penny, and Valerie put it on speaker so Nico could hear.
“Penny, is everything okay?” Valerie’s heart skipped a beat because why would Penny call unless someone was hurt? Or maybe it wasn’t bad. Perhaps she wanted to chat. That meant she liked Valerie. She sat up a bit straighter in the seat.
“Yes, yes, I called to confirm your mother’s phone number since you didn’t give it to me. No one is answering the one I found, nor is anyone at her school office. Rather unprofessional. Roger is being tedious about this whole thing but a good mother-to-mother chat will clear up any bad air. As the family matriarch, it’s my job to do it.”
